


Braid

by ElevatorAction13



Category: Hellsing
Genre: AAxEM, Gay, M/M, gay priests
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-22
Updated: 2016-03-22
Packaged: 2018-05-28 08:16:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,917
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6321895
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ElevatorAction13/pseuds/ElevatorAction13
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Enrico finally lets Anderson braid his hair as part of a strange bet that came from an incident with an exercise machine.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Braid

Braid

 

Anderson had barely cracked the gym door open when he heard the screams. 

“WHOEVER IS THERE I ORDER YOU TO HELP ME THIS INSTANT!” 

It was the man who’s voice Anderson could never misidentify.

“Enrico! Whit’s wrong?!” Anderson dropped his things and sprinted into the gym, dodging the equipment and coming to a quick halt when he found the Bishop. Maxwell was lying on his back on an exercise machine, his hands up and behind his head, clutching his ponytail. Anderson’s face blanched. Enrico long, lustrous hair had been caught in the exercise machine’s machinations, and was so tangled that Enrico could have never freed himself without tearing his prized locks. 

“Anderson! Thank God!” Enrico looked intensely more relieved when he saw Anderson standing over him, but still wore an obvious grimace of discomfort. “Now get me out of this evil machine!” 

“How th’ hell did ye dae this tae yerself?”

“I didn’t do this on purpose you buffoon! Now start freeing me this instant! Cazzo!” He hissed, forgetting about his predicament in a brief fit of frustration and jerking his head up, pulling on the already painfully taut tether. Strands of gold had already broken off, hanging between the gears and pulleys of the machine like they were it’s stolen plunder. 

“Easy, easy, jus’ relax. Ah’m going tae fix this.” Anderson soothed, giving a reassuring pat to Enrico’s shoulder before kneeling down beside him. He examined the mess carefully, tracing over the caught hair and following it, planning his attack. 

“Well? What are you waiting for!”

“Ah said relax. Ye’ll beh fine, but this will take meh ae bit. Jus’ lay there ahn beh grateful et wis meh who found ye.” He said while carefully making his first moves on the high-stakes puzzle. “Ah doubt ae random subordinate wuid ‘ave th’ patience fer this. Might jus’ cut et off.” He smirked, unseen by the trapped Bishop.”

“Don’t even say that you monster!” Enrico flailed, but still limited by his hair it didn’t last long. 

“Monster? Ye really shuidn’t bite th’ hand tha’ feeds ye. Ah cuid jus’ up ahn leave ye, stuck ‘ere fer anyone tae find.” Anderson warned, but he was smiling, seeing the other man jerk slightly. It was a bit fun to tease when his partner could do nothing. 

“No! No don’t do that forget what I said!” Frantic desperation soaked through Enrico’s voice. He couldn’t bear the thought of having anyone else see him like this, so he put all his pride aside and pleaded. “Please don’t leave me Alexander, you’re the only one I can trust with this.” 

“Hey, dinnae waerry. Ah winnae leave ye luv, et’ll beh okay. Ah’ll get ye oot o’ ‘ere en ae jiffy.” Anderson relented his jests and reached out to rub Enrico’s shoulder. “En truth, Ah cuidn’t bear tae leave ye loch this.” His face lit up when he managed to free up a lock. “One down.”

“Thank you-OW! Could you not pull so hard?”

“Ah’m tryin’ but reality es ye’ll ‘ave tae bear soom pullin’. Yer stuck en ‘ere guid.”

Enrico huffed, unhappy with having to lay there and endure even a second more of this. 

“Ye ever think o’ changin’ hairstyles? Loch, maybeh, fer instance, puttin’ et up en ae nice braid?” 

“No, Anderson.” Enrico stated with absolute firmness.

“Whit’s yer problem wit’ braids? Et’d keep this from happenin’ tha’s fer sure.” As he spoke he managed to loose another lock, but had to pull it in the process. Enrico cursed in Italian loudly, his body twisting in discomfort and impatience. 

“Braids are for small children and women that’s why!” 

“Really?” Anderson stopped and looked over at Enrico, truly bemused. “This comin’ from th’ one wit’ Rapunzel hair?”

“Long hair isn’t the same as a braid. A braid will make me look juvenile at the least, and a woman at the most.” 

“Ah still find et funny yer sayin’ this. Remember when Ah used tae sing ae similar tune? He asked, focusing again on his important work. “Shoe’s on th’ other foot now.” 

“No, no it’s not.” Enrico was adamant, shifting around again in another fit of impatience. It was clear how badly he wanted to be able to face the one he was arguing with. “You wanted me to keep my hair short as a child, distressingly so I may add. That’s different than my views about a hairstyle that can be easily done and undone. “

“Same line o’ thinkin’ though. Heh, glad Ah changed.” 

“I as well. I had to fight you on haircut day, and that was exhausting.”

“En my defense Ah always let ye win.”

“You mean I won.”

“Aye, whitever sounds better tae ye.” He chuckled, unraveling a loop of hair from a gear. “Jus’ couldn’t bring mehself tae break yer little heart loch tha’.” 

Enrico let out a short laugh; the first positive emotion since being trapped. “So obviously nothing has changed since then?”

“Very funny.” Anderson scoffed, taking a short break. After looking over Enrico for a short moment, the man got up, moved around on his knees to Enrico’s side, and leaned over to kiss him on the lips. “Yet, yer not wrong.” 

Enrico smiled, and reached up to stroke Anderson’s cheek. “Oh Alexander.” He suddenly gave the paladin a firm, swift smack to the same cheek. “Get back to work.”

“Aye!” Obeying without a moment’s hesitation, Anderson made a swift retreat back to his former post, rubbing his face as he settled down back to work. “Guid news es tha’ there’s not much left tae untangle.” 

“Fantastic, so be quicker about it.”

“As ye wish yer majesty.”

Enrico huffed but made no retort; he just wanted this ordeal done with. Meanwhile, Anderson worked quietly, doing his best not to tug those delicate locks, but Enrico’s continued curses let him know that his efforts were ultimately in vain.

“Hey, make ae bet wit’ meh. “Anderson piqued up, breaking the unbearable cycle of silence punctuated by sounds of pain. 

“What bet?” Enrico snapped. “I really don’t care about that sort of thing right now.” 

“Jus’ hear me oot, et’s better than laying there doing naething boot sufferin’ ahn caterwaulin’.” 

“Fine!” Enrico waved a hand about. “Get on with your insipid idea but don’t you dare stop working!”

Anderson did just that. “Ef Ah finish this en th’ next 5 minutes, ye’ll let meh braid yer hair later.”

Enrico took a small sharp intake of air to prepare a curt response, but the beginnings of those words died on his lips. Taking a pause, he finally spoke. “An interesting off, but I am at a clear disadvantage in these negotiations.”   
“Why dae ye say tha’? Ye dinnae trust ‘ow hard Ah’m workin’ now?”

“Not entirely, but the biggest reason is that I cannot see how much you still need to do.”

“Guid point.” He admitted, taking a few moments to ponder. “Lift yer head up?”

“No, I know what will happen very well by this point.”

“Et’s sae ye can feel tha’ there’s plenty left tae untangle, tha’ Ah’m not trickin’ ye.” 

“Fine, damn it Anderson, you have a point.” Enrico sighed, and then tried to raise his head. Anderson had not been lying; the sufficient pain caused to his scalp proved this.

“Alright, I’m considering.” He relented, laying his head back down. “Are those all of your terms then?”

“Ye alsae ‘ave tae wear et all day.” Anderson quickly added on, a blush forming on his cheeks at the thought. 

“A steep price. What will I get if you fail?”

“Besides getting’ oot o’ this mess faster? Ye want moor than tha’?”

“You’d get me out eventually, and your terms are steep, I expect more in return. It’s time for you to risk something.”

“Ah dinnae think tha’ far, dinnae think Ah needed tae.” Anderson grumbled coarsely, annoyed at how difficult Enrico was making this.

“Come now Anderson this is simple negotiation. Although I shouldn’t be surprised, you have no skill in the art of speech.”

“How aboot ye simply tell meh whit ye want “negotiator”? Watch yer tone as well, Ah’m still yer onlae hope ‘ere, Ah hold th’ best chip en this game Maxwell.”

“You lost that “chip” in the beginning. You said yourself you wouldn’t leave me-oh don’t you dare.”

Enrico’s words were dark, a reaction to the fact that Anderson had stood up, wearing a wide smirk on his face. “Ah wuidn’t leave ye true, boot Ah cuid take ae nice break cuidn’t Ah? Ah cuid work oot ahn coom back tae ye later.” 

“Alexander I will murder you if you do that.” He hissed, glaring daggers at the towering man.

“Take th’ bet ahn stop “bitin’ th’ hand”, ahn Ah get back tae work, those are meh terms.”

Enrico absolutely glowered at the paladin, his jaw tense with indignant anger. If looks could kill…“I’m going to remember this later Anderson, but fine. I accept your coercive terms.” 

“Fantastic! Ah’ll start en th’ next minute, ahn Ah’ll beh watchin’ th’ clock as well, sae dinnae think ye can trick meh.” His demeanor switched to the polar opposite, and he was perfectly cheer and eager to start. It also helped his mood that he had won a victory over the Bishop.

“Yes yes, get on with it.” Enrico said in a resigned sigh. “It’s about to hit the next minute in 3, 2, 1.”

With laser-focus and suddenly very agile fingers, Anderson dove right into the dangerous waters of the hair tangle. His eyes darted to the clock looming on the far wall every so often, very aware that Enrico would not hesitate to claim a false loss in his own favor. 

“Stop pulling so much!”

“Tae busy right now, yer hair’s fine.” He replied in short words, extremely preoccupied. Time was ticking down, and sweat formed on his brow as he frantically worked out the last tangle, the clock hand racing his fingers. 

“3, 2, 1. Time’s up hands off!” Enrico declared like judge, and Anderson threw his hands up, grinning like an idiot. 

“Sae, want tae see who won?” 

Enrico first felt back behind him, pulling at this hair tentatively, then harder, and then in disbelief he shot up. “You, you did it!” He laughed, running his hands through his own locks wildly. “Oh thank you! Thank you! It’s all here and safe Alexander!” He lunged towards Anderson, attacking him with a passionate, tight hug, and kissing his face and lips. “You saved me Alexander, il mio eroe, il amore mio~” He spoke lovingly, hands clasping the sides of his lover’s face as he kissed him tenderly on the lips. Anderson could only blush dark shades of red at his partner’s sincere affections, hugging him back and hands wrapped around his bare torso. 

“Yer sae welcoom meh dear dove.” He smiled, kissing his nose. “Ye, ye dae ken ye lost th’ bet aye?” 

Enrico’s face fell, but only briefly. Raising a hand he made a dismissive wave. “Yes, yes I did, but my freedom is more than worth it. You weren’t actually going to make me wait though, were you?” He narrowed his eyes at Anderson, his voice suddenly venomous.

“Nae! Nae o’ course not!” Anderson chuckled nervously, kissing the man’s stern lips. “Jus’ ae damn useful lie, dinnae ye waerry. Everything’s fine now anyways, let’s focus on tha’.” 

“Fine, everything is wonderful right now.” Enrico sighed in relief and stood up, tossing his hair back, relishing his release from captivity. “I have had enough of the gym today, and will be retiring back to my office. Feel free to collect your “winnings” today if you wish.” 

“Whit? Ye dinnae want tae watch meh work out?” Standing up, Anderson gave him a flex, his whole body tightening. 

“Stop that.” Enrico averted his eyes, cheeks blushing, and lightly swatted the tempting body away. “I have work that must be done.”

“Aye, alricht. Ah can give ye ae show later, naked.”

“Goodbye, Anderson.” He gave him one last kiss to stop his talking. “And thank you.”

“Aye, not ae problem. Now gae give tha’ traumatized hair o’ yers ae guid brushing.”

 

“Come in.” Enrico called out, responding to the knock at his door without looking up from his papers. Re-dressed and re-done, he looked as is the fiasco in the gym never happened. Something that Anderson fully noted when he entered the room. 

“Well lookit ye, feeling better lad?” 

A brief second of shock rolled over Enrico before he looked up, his expression slowly falling into a nervous smile. “S-si, much better. You are here to uphold the bargain aren’t you?” 

“Yer not even going tae try ahn weasel yer way oot o’ et?”

Enrico gave a resigned shrug. “It’s not worth a fight. So come on, let’s get this over with. Brush is in my room if you want to get it.” He waved his hand over towards the direction of his room as he looked back down at his papers and went back to work. 

“Jus’ on yer vanity?”

“Where it always is si.”

Anderson left, and was soon back, brush in hand, as well as a handy and essential hair tie. “Yer no actually going tae keep workin’ during this are ye? Et sort o’ ruins et.”

Enrico let out a breath of exasperation. “Ruins what?” He looked up and whipped the glasses off his face. “I’ll be sitting still and not moving isn’t that all you need?”

“Et’s supposed tae beh relaxin’, leisurely, fun. Why cannae ye jus’ stop fer ae few minutes?” It was hard to imagine it, but the mighty, imposing paladin could indeed, whine, and he was about to demonstrate. 

“Anderson no-“

“Please?”

“Anderson stop-“

“Pleeeaase?”

“Alexander you’re being an idiot.”

“Pleeeeeaaasse?”

“FINE. Just stop it’s pathetic!” The chair made an ugly screech as it was forcefully pushed backwards. Enrico got up in a huff, made his way to the couch, and sat on it with legs crossed and facing one side of the room. “There! I’m ready now.”

Anderson sat down behind him, hands already undoing his hair band. “Yer not going tae beh this way th’ whole time are ye?”

“I wouldn’t be “this way” if you hadn’t been whining like a child.” 

“Alright fair enough, let’s just forget that.” The hair band undone, Anderson took off his gloves before digging his fingers into Enrico’s thick, long mane and running them up the man’s scalp, getting it all spread out. 

Arching his back, Enrico shivered very slightly, and Anderson smiled. “Ye loch tha’ dinnae ye?”

“Shut up. Like it surprises you. You know what I like.” He scoffed, and got himself settled into his prior position before his small reaction. “When did you learn to braid hair anyways?”

“Meh lassies.” Taking the brush, he brushed out Enrico’s prized locks, getting gentle shivers from the man in return. “They’re always messin’ wit each other’s hair ahn insisted tha’ Ah learn as well. Et’s rather nice. Ef my hair was long enough ye cuid dae th’ same tae meh.”

“Oh please don’t grow out your hair.” Enrico replied, very quickly. “That would look so strange.” 

“Ah’m insulted.” Anderson scoffed and rolled his eyes. He didn’t want to admit it, but this was a league different from any braiding he had done before. The girls had normal length hair, not too long, not too short. There also wasn’t that much hair either, being children. 

Enrico was a whole other case, a new, intimidating, challenging case. He could barely separate his hair into three sections; it was just SO MUCH and SO LONG. 

“Are you doing alright back there?” Enrico turned his head a little, not a lot, but Anderson could clearly see a sly grin on those lips. “Having some trouble?”

“Ah’m fine.” He grumbled, freeing his fingers from a troublesome lock. “Give meh ae minute.” 

A minute or two it took, before Anderson had it managed. “Finally.” He said quietly.

“Yes, finally.” Enrico meanwhile was examining his nails, rather bored, but still otherwise patient, and amused by how quickly Anderson’s pride had flattened.

“Ah dinnae ken how ye live wit’ yer hair luv. Ah’m impressed soomtimes, despite ye getting’ stuck.” Slowly, he started to gently weave the hair sections together, taking extra care to not pull too much. 

“A lifetime of practice and refined grace-don’t you dare laugh.” Enrico spat, interrupting Anderson’s chuckles. “Those two things, as well as a dedication to one’s own upkeep.” 

“Hence th’ lavish vanity.”

“Si, hence the lavish vanity. Thou shalt not judge Alexander, it’s an extremely useful piece of furniture.”

“Does help keep ye lookin’ sae damn guid all th’ time. Most handsome Iscariot Chief there ever was.”

“Oh stop, although I suppose you would know old man. How many have you worked for?”

“Ae gentleman never asks ae man his age Enrico.”

“Isn’t that supposed to be “a gentleman never asks a lady her name?” 

“Different circumstance, different genders, but same purpose.” 

Enrico had a genuine, small laugh at that. “True, you are very far from being a lady. You are built like a tank. Anyways, how are you doing back there?” 

“Better.” He had had to undo a couple of weaves, but he was getting the hang of it. In addition to the length and amount of hair, it was also very soft. Soft and silky and very hard to control, but such a privilege to touch! “Aye, Ah’m doing much better.”

“Good to hear.”

His hands finding the rhythm, Anderson got lost in his focused work, and went quiet. Enrico had no reason to interrupt his focus or his quiet, because despite his previous protests to the very idea of this, he was enjoying it. Anderson playing with hair, brushing it and gently, but firmly, tugging it appropriately taut was a pleasurable sensation. Sighing, he loosened up and closed his eyes, just listening to the subtle ticking of the clock and the muted songs of birds outside his windows, and let himself doze off. 

As he worked, Anderson had to keep scooting back on the couch as he progressed down the long stretch of hair. It was getting more difficult to keep the braid from getting too slack. 

“’Rico?”

“Hm?” Enrico woke from his light dozing with a start.

“Saerry, dinnae ken ye were sleeping. Jus’ wanted tae ask if ye cuid move forward ae bit.”

“Oh, si, fine.” He did as asked, and got settled and comfortable again. 

“Thanks, ye can gae back tae sleep now.”

“Not sleeping.” Enrico mumbled. “Resting my eyes.”

“Whitever ye say.”

It was such a surprise, this afternoon. A morning of entrapment and the following frantic need for escape had yielded this. Soft sounds, soft breaths, a soft couch, a soft head of hair, and a normally stressed out, tense man now soft and falling into sleep. The whole experience was so soothing it made Anderson want to sleep as well.

“Done.” He stated proudly, but quietly. 

Tying off the end, he admired the long, neat, cute braid that he had crafted. It was wonderful work, especially for a first try on such a difficult subject. 

Just as he was finishing his inspection, Enrico started to tip backwards. Catching him, he held him close as he lay down on the couch with him. Perfect timing, he was also ready for a nap. 

 

“It does look pretty good.” Enrico stood in front of his mirror, feeling up and down the braid, looking at it from the front, and looking at it from the back. 

“Jus’ pretty guid?” Anderson came up from behind him, smiling, and set his hands on Enrico’s shoulders. “Ah think ye look pretty damn guid.” 

The hairstyle was a success. His hair was still pulled away from his face like the usual ponytail, so the onlooker could still enjoy and admire the man’s finely cut and aristocratic features, and it still flowed down his back like water. It did give his hair a controlled look, since sometimes the end of his ponytail could get wild and unruly. With this look, that wasn’t an issue anymore, and a lot less daily brushing was required. 

The smooth tapering of the braid as it hung down his back both clung to his subtly alluring body shape and accentuated it. Broad at the top, and thinner at the bottom, where it led right to his thin waist, landing right at the top of his ass. 

Enrico spun around just in time to catch Anderson staring. He smirked at the blushing paladin, and was instantly struck with an idea for revenge for Anderson’s earlier coercion. 

“If everyone appreciates this new look as much as you obviously do, then we’ll have quite a problem on our hands when I spend a whole day with it, won’t we?” He chuckled, and toyed with the end of his braid, twirling it in his fingers. “You already insist that I have too many eyes that look upon me with lust do you not?”

“Shite, yer right.” Anderson paled, and thought hard for a moment, biting his finger. “Maybeh ye shuidn’t wear et loch this, let’s scrap this whole idea!” He smiled nervously. “Ah changed meh mind! Ye dinnae ‘ave tae wear et fer the’ whole day-“

“No no, I like it.” He admired himself in the mirror again. “I’m keeping it like this today. A deal’s a deal as well, and you did such a wonderful job on it. It’d be such a waste to ruin it right after it’s creation. Others should be able to see it, and how “pretty damn good” I look.”

“Maxwell. Ah ken whit yer doing, et’s not funny.”

“What are you talking about? Why can’t I show off what you’ve made? What was your idea?” He was grinning now, and walked away, his new braid swishing back and forth over his shapely hips, and more importantly, his tight ass. It was like an arrow pointing right at it. 

“Et’s very, tempting. Et’d beh wrong tae gae out wit’ et, ye’d be puttin’ indecent thoughts en holy men ahn women’s heads.” He nodded sagely, but was still blushing, his own head already filled to the brim with indecent thoughts. Not just indecent, downright graphic. 

“I’m keeping my word Alexander. My dear, flustered Alexander.” He sidled up to him and stood on his toes to give him a quick peck, then retreated back to his desk to grab his briefcase. “Just remember how hard you fought for this when you see bouquets on my desk later. Now, if you excuse me, I have some business to attend to.” Snapping the leather case shut, he turned back to Anderson with a false innocent smile. “Do try to keeping from falling victim to those indecent thoughts of yours. We have plenty of time to, vent them out, later. See you tonight Alexander.” He turned, giving Anderson another tempting view, and walked towards the door. 

“W-wait! Ah’m escorting ye.” Greatly agitated, his boots stomped the floor as he rushed over to Enrico’s side.

Enrico played offended. “I can walk through hallways on my own Alex. Go back to your own work.” 

“Nae, Ah’m escorting ye sae Ah can kick th’ ass o’ anyone tha’ looks at ye.”

“Charming. Fine, come along.” He gave Anderson his briefcase. “Make yourself useful at least, and please do try to contain yourself out there. I don’t want to be spending my evening going over incident reports.”

“Nae promises luv.”


End file.
